Printable bracket: Who did you scribble in to win the NCAA Tournament?

A serving of sports commentary each weekday near noontime

Random thoughts as I decipher my NCAA Tournament bracket over a strong espresso and stronger views of the snow-covered Rocky Mountains out my window:

• The in-state schools received fair seeds but tough matchups. Missouri looked like one of the best teams I'd seen all year — in a loss. Still, it showed so much athleticism and offensive skill in the defeat at UCLA. I don't see any Colorado State guard staying with junior guard Phil Pressey. CSU also will get matched on the boards where it leads the country. Missouri is No. 3 in rebounding.

Colorado plays an Illinois team that gave Gonzaga one of its two losses — in Spokane, Wash. — upset Wisconsin and Ohio State and beat Minnesota on a neutral court. Colorado's best win — at Oregon — doesn't match any of those except the Minnesota win.

• Let's see how truly improved the Pac-12 was this season. After only two teams made it last year, when California lost in that First Four game and Baylor buried Colorado in the second round.

I like sixth-seeded UCLA to pull another Malibu Mentality and lose to No. 11 Minnesota in Austin. The Bruins are wimpy rebounders and the Gophers grinded their way through a brutal Big Ten schedule by manning up on the boards.

Oregon got the shaft. I'm not wearing my Oregon alumni sweatshirt as I write this. But a No. 12 seed is for bubble teams or at-large mid-majors. It's not for a Pac-12 school that won its tournament and also won at UNLV. With freshman sensation point guard Dominic Artis finally 100 percent, I like the veteran Ducks' chances against an Oklahoma State team led by another freshman point guard — even if it is dynamic Marcus Smart.

After studying the bracket, who's your favroite to win the NCAA Tournament? The Post's John Henderson says, "I'm going with the chalk: Louisville," which defeated Syracuse on Saturday for the Big East Tournament title. (Frank Franklin II, The Associated Press)

In January I wrote Arizona is a legitimate Final Four candidate. Now its a legitimate early flameout. The Wildcats have gone 5-5 in their last 10 and blew a double-digit lead to UCLA in the tourney semifinals. In Salt Lake City they play an underrated 11th-seeded Belmont team that won at Stanford and has the same guards, Ian Clark (18.1 ppg) and Kerron Johnson (13.7 ppg, 4.8 assists), who led the Bruins to last year's tourney.

California was playing the best ball in the league until it brain-locked against Utah in the league tourney. It lost at home to UNLV by one in December but gets the Rebels again across the bridge in San Jose. This has 12 vs. 5 upset written all over it.

• Gonzaga is not a No. 1 seed. It played three ranked teams all season and lost two of them: Illinois at home and at Butler. It did beat Oklahoma State at home. The Zags played their usual tough schedule, but West Virginia and Clemson didn't even make the tournament this year. I'd have a hard time seeding Gonzaga over Miami (Fla.), which not only won the ACC regular season, but also its tournament.

• My favorite to win it? I'm going with the chalk: Louisville. I like great defensive teams with great point guards. The Cardinals have that with the best press this side of Virginia Commonwealth and a seasoned, sensational — if a bit erratic — senior guard in Peyton Siva.

Printable Bracket

• Most untested: Memphis. Its No. 6 seed is relatively low for a 30-4 team, but I saw the Tigers look very mediocre in their Conference USA Tournament title win in double OT over a Southern Mississippi team that didn't make the field. They played one ranked team all year — and lost to sixth-ranked Louisville at home, 87-78.

• Looking ahead, as everyone else, I want to see Roy Williams bring his North Carolina Tar Heels into Kansas City to face his old team, Kansas, in the second round Sunday. I was at the Final Four in San Antonio five years ago when the Jayhawks humiliated Williams in their first rematch, 84-66. Then last year Kansas beat the Tar Heels in St. Louis in the Elite Eight, 80-67.

This North Carolina team isn't nearly as good. Good luck, Roy. You'll need it.

John Henderson: 303-954-1299, jhenderson@denverpost.com or twitter.com/johnhendersondp

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